Nickole rolled over in bed as her alarm continued to go off on her nightstand, she'd been lying there listening to it for way too long. And as tempted as she was to stay in bed, she knew she had to get moving. Getting up in the morning had gotten harder than ever before since things calmed down. The beds at Beacon were far from uncomfortable, but Nickole hadn't even remotely realized how much she missed her own bed. And as she rolled over she had to fight the urge to close her eyes and go back to sleep, too bad it wasn't a Tuesday. Instead she pushed herself out of bed and changed into a tank top and sweatpants, she didn't see the point in getting fully dressed for breakfast. She quickly pulled her hair back into a ponytail and took a quick look in the mirror. That was when Nickole noticed for the first time how much longer her hair had grown since she left for Beacon. It was a wonder she hadn't before, but somehow she had missed the fact that her hair was significantly longer than ever before. She must've been really absent minded to have missed it for this long.
Of course you were, she chided herself as she opened her door. Think about everything that's happened the last few months.
It had been absolutely crazy, going to Beacon was nothing like what she thought it would've been. Of course there had been a very particular reason for that, and he was waiting in the hall outside.
"Morning." Kobalt smiled as she stepped outside. Like her, he hadn't bothered dressing fully this morning. Instead he had thrown on shorts and a t shirt lent to him by her family. "Sleep well?"
"Coulda slept all day, I missed that bed." Nickole yawned with a stretch, "You?"
Kobalt briefly raised an eyebrow and Nickole nearly kicked herself before he quickly changed the subject. Of course he hadn't slept well, he had memories coming back in his sleep.
"Come on let's go get something to eat." Kobalt said letting her lead him to the dining room.
Dining room would've been a poor term though, mess hall would've been better. At Beacon Nickole had gotten a taste for a better form of cafeteria food, but back home unless you finished training you ate the same food as everyone else. And the hall itself looked right at home in the Gareth estate, light grey walls and tables with only one side of the hall having windows. And of course the fact that everyone there but KNGT was wearing basically the same outfit didn't help, and it definitely helped reinforce how militant her family could be. Everyone was dressed like Kobalt was now, grey shorts and a shirt, practically uniform. Which meant it was easy to pick out Tristan and Justin, both of whom had some color on. Together Nickole and Kobalt grabbed a few bagels, some juice, and joined their friends at their own table.
"Morning," Tristan welcomed as he nibbled on what was left of his own food "You two are up awfully late, you guys weren't…"
"Tristan," Nickole cut him off "Just cause you're my friend doesn't mean won't I won't kick your ass for making jokes like that."
"Actually I think it makes you more likely than anything." Kobalt added "And you'll be glad it's her and not me doing it."
"Alright message received no more of those ones." Tristan folded "What about jokes about your family, cause I'm not gonna lie this is kind of weird. We in Atlas or something?"
"Yeah sorry, only the higher ups get their own kitchen and all." Nickole said "Trainees and squad leaders eat here. And yeah, it's weird."
"It's not that bad." Kobalt shrugged "Kinda what I'm used to honestly, though I used to sit by myself back in the day. None of Black Knight's soldiers would sit with me after the found out who I was."
"Well looks that that's about to change." Tristan noted pointing behind, before Nickole could follow it she saw a large pair of arms wrap around Kobalt's neck putting him in a headlock. It was one of her many cousins, Gains. One of the soldiers just shy of being good enough to be a Huntsman. To his credit he took it with stride, years after being told he couldn't attend an academy he had thrown himself into training. But he also had some pretty skewed views on how tough Huntsmen really were.
"Didn't anyone tell you cuz?" the man asked Kobalt "Recruits like you don't sit with the specialists."
"Gains let him go." Nickole ordered "He's not…"
"Don't worry about it Nickole, just tryin to show the kid the ropes." Gains added turning his attention back to Kobalt "I don't think we've met, name's Gainsboro, and you?"
"Kobalt." He answered, bringing a single hand up and grabbing on to Gains' arm. Nickole saw his grip tighten as he casually removed the arm from around his neck, Gains looked almost mortified by the fact that someone was over powering him.
"Gains he's not part of the family." Nickole told him "He's my team leader, from Beacon."
"A Huntsman? Isn't he the one who fought your…" Gains started his face getting pale.
"Father, yeah that was nice little warm up." Kobalt added letting got go of his arm.
"Sorry sir, I assumed with the clothes and all…" Gains started stammering. Due to his failure, Gains had somehow gotten it into his head the Huntsmen were invincible.
"What was your name again?" Kobalt asked
"G-Gainsboro."
"Good, I'll remember that." Kobalt added, his face dead serious. Gains, who was usually full of bravado was falling apart, and as funny as it was he was a squad leader. He needed to get his act together.
"Hey, Blue." Nickole said nudging her boyfriend.
"Yeah?" he asked turning back to her as she raised a hand and flicked his forehead.
"Be nice to my family." She told him "They're not all like my dad."
"What I can't have a little fun?" Kobalt smiled turning back to Gains and extending his hand "Sorry about that man couldn't resist."
"You never can." Tristan sighed "First me now this poor guy? Come on man."
"Its fine, I guess I deserved it for making the assumption." Gains said shaking Kobalt's hand. He was still pretty pale, though.
"Don't beat yourself up over it," Kobalt laughed "What are the odds you were wrong? I can't imagine people from outside your family come here often."
"Usually it's only when they're about to become family." Nickole told him
"Jeez put the pressure on will ya?" Kobalt chuckled awkwardly, turning back to his food. "We should finish up here, got a lot of work to do today."
"Speak for yourself, my parents are both insisting I spend some time with them." Nickole complained "Compared to training which would you rather do?"
"Parents." Kobalt said in a heartbeat
"Well you don't know yours, so that doesn't count." Nickole sighed
"They can't be that bad." Tristan shook his head
"Well let's see, my dad is an overprotective Huntsman who would've locked me in my room for life if I couldn't fight." She started "And my mother is incorrigible gossip, flirt, and busy body.
"Sounds like normal parents to me." Justin shrugged
"Oh and I now have a boyfriend." Nickole added, briefly grabbing Kobalt's hand and raising it up.
"Hello." he laughed as he munched on his breakfast.
"So how do you think my day will go?" she asked "Cause the last time Kobalt was brought up in conversation was for my dad's little test."
"Okay, maybe it won't be that great." Tristan caved "but would you really rather be running drills with the rest of us?"
"Yes." Nickole insisted "But it doesn't matter anyone, my sword needs to be cleaned out and repaired, I kinda forgot to do that at school."
"Then I wish you the best of luck." Tristan added raising a glass of juice
"If you need anything give me call." Kobalt told her
"Thanks, I will almost definitely take you up on that." She said giving him a peck on the cheek.
"So what's your plan for the day?" Nickole asked Kobalt as they walked back to their rooms to change
"I need to start doing some real training," he told her "Between my memories and that fight with your dad I'm starting to realize how out of shape I am."
"I'm sorry, what?" she asked confused "You're plenty strong, more than most people I know."
"I used to be better, losing my memories really screwed me up." Kobalt sighed "Compared to what I used to be like my swordsmanship is sloppy and my energy control is pathetic. I think only remembered the basics."
"That's scary, I don't think I can imagine what that must be like." Nickole added "What did you have in mind? The guys can't help you much, you're past them already."
"Actually I was thinking your dad might be able to help me out." Kobalt added "He's definitely the strongest person I've fought, at least that I can remember."
"After that fight he might take that as a compliment." Nickole laughed walking into her room to change.
She walked out not long after wearing jeans and a sweatshirt, if she had to spend the better part of her day with her parents she might as well be comfortable. Nickole took her time walking to the other end of the manor to her parent's flat, the entirety of the west wing was for the senior members of the family. Members who ran something for the family or handled missions the rest couldn't. Usually that meant those who had trained as Huntsmen or had specialized in some way. Nickole would have her own room here one day, with the very elite of her family. Among them her father currently held the position of chief operator, the best warrior in the family. Her mother, being from outside the family, had done well for herself as well. She had all but revolutionized the medical facilities and procedures, and helped teach members who planned on pursuing a career in medicine. Then there was her brother, Auburn. There was a time when he once rivaled their father, he had been gifted in combat since he could raise a shield. Now he managed operations for the family and other Huntsmen, as well as analyzed intel and predicted potential trends in criminal activity. It was a shame though, Nickole could remember a time when everyone looked up to her brother as a fighter. Now all most people saw was a reminder of the greatest insult the Gareths had suffered in the last eighty years. The fact that one of their own had been attacked inside the manor itself had enraged almost the entire family to the point of violence. And part of Nickole was ashamed that she was sometimes among them. Even if she was upset that her own brother was crippled she often forgot how he must feel. All these thoughts spun through her head as she reached the west wing and found herself standing not in front of her parent's door, but her brother's.
"Auburn?" she asked as she knocked "You in there?"
"Yea come on in." her brother's muffled voice called out.
Nickole opened the door to be greeted with almost complete darkness, save for the glow of the monitors there was absolutely no light in the flat. Auburn's silhouette moved slightly in front of them as he continued working without pause.
"Hey Auburn," Nickole started as she entered the room "Have you ever heard of natural light?"
"What are you talking about?" he asked, eyes not leaving the screens in front of him.
"I'm talking about this." Nickole sighed as she walked over to his windows and raised one of the shades. Bright light poured into the room as Auburn recoiled away from it and Nickole opened shade after shade to let more in. As she did she started to realize how much of a mess her brother's flat was. Clothes were scattered across the small room Auburn had turned into an office of sorts, the floor was mostly covered in dirty laundry. His couch might've been the only clean thing there, but the coffee table in front of it was covered in what seemed to be take out packages. He'd been ordering food to his room? It didn't make any sense, he had a kitchen with his choice of stock that was filled regularly. Of course one look into the other room told her why, or rather one smell. It reeked of spoiled, well spoiled everything. She didn't even want to imagine what his bedroom looked like right now.
"Jeez, what time is it?" Auburn asked as he lowered his hands and his eyes adjusted to the light. "Sun shouldn't be coming through that way till tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow? Auburn it's barely eleven." Nickole told him as she turned to face him. That was when she noticed how much Auburn had changed over the past few weeks. His hair had grown out even further and he had the start of a bright red beard growing unevenly on his face. His eyes were bloodshot, and his glasses looked like they hadn't been cleaned since the room had.
"When was the last time you left this room?" Nickole asked him
"I don't know, what day is it?" he asked her
"Wednesday." She told him shaking her head in disbelief.
"No, number day." Auburn shook his head.
"For the love of the winds Auburn. From someone who usually comes to you for advice, please, take mine." Nickole nearly yelled, "Get out of this room and go outside."
"I can't I've got work to do." He said shifting back to his computer. "Lot of activity going on right now, need to get more Huntsmen on it."
"Auburn, look at me." Nickole ordered wheeling his chair around and looking him dead in the eye. "What's going on?
Auburn just sighed as he rubbed his eyes, taking a deep breath he looked back at her with what was probably the most tired expression Nickole had ever seen.
"Ever since you came back with that data I've been trying to figure out what I can about this Black Knight group." He told her "You know dad wants to go after them, and Ozpin has a few Huntsmen looking into things."
"And you?"
"I've been pooling intel, sending out recon teams, looking for whatever I can find." He continued
"No I meant what's going on with you." she corrected "You've always been one to keep yourself busy, but this?"
She motioned to the state of the flat.
"This is nuts, you can't go on like this. Not when you lectured me for not putting my laundry away as a kid." she added "It's not like you, what's wrong?"
"It's just, these are the people who attacked me." he sighed "It's been tough, we know more about them than ever before and I'm stuck here, watching others go after them."
"It's never bothered you before." Nickole mentioned
"That's because there was nothing I could do before." He confessed "We had nothing, no clue who or why or even how. They just blasted through a wall before anyone knew what was happening."
"And then they disappeared I know, I was there." she reminded him "But that doesn't explain why you wouldn't want to start looking as soon as you got back up."
"I did want to, but by the time I was out of the infirmary dad had already spent a week looking. And he got nothing, after that I figured there was no point and moved on."
"You mean you tried to." Nickole corrected "You're more driven than any of us."
"Not anymore." Auburn sighed "I think that part of me never got up from that rubble, I think it latched on to you instead."
Nickole couldn't help but smile when he said that, she stood up and grabbed onto the back of his wheelchair.
"What are you doing?" he asked as she started pushing him.
"Come on, you need a haircut." She told him as she wheeled him into the bathroom. She reached into a drawer and pulled out a razor and shave cream. "Here, you handle that mess and I'll get the rest."
"I can handle it all." Auburn protested as she reached for a pair of scissors.
"Oh please, you've had months to cut your hair since I left." She argued already cutting off a huge chunk of hair. "If you haven't held up your end of the deal then I'm assuming you can't."
At that Auburn started bursting out in laughter, Nickole hadn't heard him laugh like that in ages. A genuine, almost hysterical laugh, brought on by something so simple it cracked him up.
"I can't believe you remember that part of the conversation." He said wiping a tear from his eye "Remember how you used to keep your hair in that ridiculous bun?"
"Keep talking and that's what you're getting." Nickole threatened
"And I thought I'd grown my hair out." Auburn added "It looks good by the way."
"Thanks, I kind of like it."
After a short time Nickole managed to get her brother's hair back to the blazed up style he used to have ages ago. And after a nearly ordering him to get out of his room and get some fresh air she walked further down the hall to her parents' flat. Still though, she was worried about him. For the first time in her life her big brother wasn't doing well, even after being attacked he managed to stay like himself. But now that he knew who and why, it was clear to her that it was doing more to him then he was letting on. Maybe with some help he'd start feeling better, but she had no idea what she could do. It was still on her mind when she knocked on her parent's door and was ushered in by her mother, who was just so excited to have her little girl over like old times. Nickole barely registered her mother going on and on about it had been ages since Nickole had even set foot in their flat, and her father reminding her about the family's traditions. She zoned back in just in time to realize the two of them had asked her what she thought.
"Personally I think it was good to get some distance early on." Nickole admitted with a shrug.
"Fair enough I suppose, your mother is quite the handful." Her father laughed
"If that helps you sleep at night dad, then I won't shatter your perception of the truth." Nickole retorted to her mother's delight.
"That's my girl, hopefully your baby brother got my wits the same as you." Citrine smiled
"Speaking of which, where is Lian?" Nickole asked "He's still living with you two right?"
"Yes of course, he hasn't come of age yet." Her father confirmed "He's away in Vale right now with my brother. I thought he deserved a break."
"He's with Uncle Wheatley?" Nickole asked "How is that a break?"
"Because I told my little brother that if he gets Aurelian in any trouble," Faron added with a smile "I will personally and publically kick his ass from one end of Vale to the other."
"Geez, you can really feel the love in this family." Nickole shook her head.
"Oh please, you should've seen my father's relationship with his brother." Her mother laughed "That would make your father seem like a kind brother. In fact there was one time…"
"I don't even want to know." Nickole cut her off
"Well if you don't want to hear more of our stories why don't you tell us a few of your own?" Her mother suggested "I've barely heard a thing about your time at Beacon."
"Not really all that much to tell." Nickole shifted in her seat, "Why do you even want to hear about Beacon anyway?"
"Because all I've heard from you has been either the tiny bits you tell me about Kobalt, or this Black Knight stuff." She countered "You must have a few stories worth telling, like how you started dating."
"Not really." Nickole lied, she knew if she told her mother even a little about the things that had happened she'd spin the whole thing into some sappy love story. It might not even be that hard, in hindsight she had spent most of her time with Kobalt. And gotten to know him better than the rest of her friends.
"Well if she won't tell us anything then how about I regale her with my adventures the past few months?" her father chimed back in.
"Oh winds no." Nickole shuttered, when her father got going he was worse than Professor Port. An absolutely horrendous storyteller.
"So a few weeks ago I was hunting down a flock of Griffons outside this small village east of Vale." He started as Nickole and her mother shot each other pained looks. But while her mother had grown accustom to these stories Nickole still couldn't stand them. Quietly as she could, she slid her scroll out of her pocket and started sending a message to Kobalt. Knowing her dad he would be too engrossed in his story to notice.
Hey I need a favor. As soon as you can I need you to come to my parents' flat and ask my dad to help you train. I don't know how long I can take this.
"So it turns out the Griffons weren't even the Grimm that had been attacking the village, so naturally I go back and wait to see what is." Her father continued not breaking stride
"Naturally." Both Nickole and her mom echoed rolling their eyes. It was his job, of course he want back. Besides he'd been talking for all of a minute, at least Port built up to the major part of the story a bit more.
"So there I was sitting in a dumpster waiting for hours, when all of a sudden, whoosh, something shoots past me. I've only seen a few things move this fast so I know it's either a wyvern or varanus." Faron kept going "Whichever it is I'm not wasting any time as I jump out, readying an arrow large enough to kill either of them. And just before I loose my arrow, the damn thing turns around thinking it has a chance. I'd like to say I knew which it was, but I didn't even get a clear…."
He was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door, and Nickole had never been more grateful in her life. Faron walked over and opened the door to Kobalt, who could not possibly have been a more welcome sight.
"Kobalt?" Nickole's father asked "I'm sorry but if you're here for Nickole were having a family moment right now."
"Actually I'm not," Kobalt said looking almost embarrassed "I was coming to see you, I was hoping you'd be willing to help me train."
"Excuse me?" Faron asked
"Well my team can't exactly help me improve much, and Professor Midori is the one trying to get them stronger. So that leaves me on my own." Kobalt told him "If I'm going to get back to what I used to be like then I need someone to train with. And you're definitely the most skilled person I can remember fighting."
"Is that so?" Nickole's father asked, his eyes lighting up briefly "Just training or would you like another duel?"
"Just training is fine," Kobalt answered "Weapons only if that's okay. I need to get my sword skills back up to speed."
"Alright deal, but you're in my debt for leaving a family moment for this." Faron agreed
"Fair enough." Kobalt nodded "I'll see you later Nickole."
"See ya Blue." Nickole waved goodbye, mouthing 'thank you' behind her father's back as they left.
"Well he certainly is cute." Her mother commented once the door was shut.
"That didn't take long at all." Nickole sighed
"What?" Citrine asked "I thought you'd be glad I like him."
"You barely know him." Nickole pointed out "You've had a single conversation with him."
"And I found him to be quite the gentleman." She added "And frankly I think your father likes him too."
"You think so?" Nickole asked
"He just agreed to train with the boy. When was the last time you heard of your father training with anyone other than Auburn?"
"Never." Nickole admitted, her thoughts being brought back to her brother as he was mentioned. She remembered watching Auburn training with her father, it was like watching the world's deadliest dance. Back then she could never tell which one held the advantage until the duel was over and one of them was on the floor.
"Hey, something wrong sweetie?" her mother asked bringing her attention back in. "You've been zoning out since you got here."
"I stopped by Auburn's room on my way here." Nickole confided in her mom "I don't think he's doing okay."
Citrine pursed her lips as she stood up and poured cups of tea for the two of them, maybe she had seen him earlier herself.
"I've been thinking the same thing." she said, handing Nickole her cup of tea. "I think the only reason he moved on as well as he did was because he didn't know who or why."
"But now he does, and not being able to do anything is killing him." Nickole added "And watching it happen is killing me."
"I know, it breaks my heart every time I see him rolling through the halls in that wheelchair." Her mother admitted "But now, I can't even imagine what he must be going through."
"Isn't there something we can do to help him?" Nickole asked
"Like what?"
"I don't know, but there's got to be something…" Nickole faltered as something popped into her head "Wait…do you have any friends from med school in Atlas?"
"A few, where do you think we get most of our medical tech. Why?" her mother raised an eyebrow
"Just a thought, it'd be Auburn's choice of course." Nickole said "But there might be someone there who could help him."
"I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought about that back when we found out how bad his legs were." Citrine admitted, clearly starting to understand what Nickole was implying "But I knew he wouldn't agree to it."
"He will now, mom being in that chair will kill him." Nickole said "We have to do something. Winds know dad can't think of anything to do."
"Alright, I'll make a few calls, see what I can do."
"Thanks mom, you're the best." Nickole breathed a sigh of relief.
"Of course I am." She smiled "Now, let's talk about this boyfriend of yours."
"Oh no."
"Well it's like you said, I barely know anything about him." Her mother smiled "So now, you'll tell me everything."
Walking out of her parent's room hours later, Nickole swore she'd never, ever, have a conversation like that again. It had mostly turned into her brief conversation with JADE the day she and Kobalt started dating. Only it lasted for the rest of the afternoon, and included significantly more prodding than she could've imagined. Now that she was finally done with all that she wanted nothing more than to grab her sword and relax with some training. Unfortunately it was still being cleaned, so she settled for the obstacle course instead. She armored up and stepped out into the crisp evening air. Hoping Kobalt might be able to give her a run for her money, she wandered around the fields until she finally found her friends gathered at the far end of the arena field. Midori had the brothers against one another, surprisingly enough with Tristan seemingly holding the advantage. As she got closer she noticed her scroll sync up with theirs and confirmed what she saw. Tristan's Aura hadn't taken a hit, somehow he was out maneuvering Justin.
"Hey what'd I miss?" Nickole asked Kobalt as she walked up next to him, now that she was close she could see his face twisted in disbelief.
"The upset of the century." Kobalt shook his head "And me realizing I'm about to lose eighty lien."
"You wanna tell me how?" Nickole asked
"Watch." Kobalt said pointing to Justin, who was just about to charge his brother.
As Nickole shifted her focus she saw Tristan slide off to the side as Justin rushed in. Just as his brother was about to pass him Tristan spun, slicing his brother's foot with his sword causing him to trip. Tristan came out of the spin with his legs spread apart and his sword raised horizontally next to his head. Nickole recognized the stance instantly, it was one of Kobalt's. Without wasting another second Tristan lunged forward, thrusting his sword into his brother's exposed back and knocking his Aura down into the red.
"Looks like you're a better teacher than you thought." Midori laughed walking up to Kobalt
"Yeah yeah." Kobalt sighed, reaching into his pocket and handing his professor a slip of lien.
"Do I even want to know?" Nickole asked
"Probably not." Kobalt shrugged
"So do either of you feel like doing any training?" Midori asked the two of them
"Can't really do much without my sword." Nickole countered
"You don't give yourself enough credit." Kobalt smiled "You've got a whole host of runes you could use."
"I don't typically use them without my sword, never needed to learn how." She argued
"Well now's as good a time as any." He said walking over to one of the gatehouse along the wall of the estate. "Come on, best way to learn is in the field."
"He's got a point, you might not always have your sword with you." Midori agreed "But your semblance…"
"Alright fine." Nickole caved as she jogged to catch up to Kobalt. Waving to one of the guards at the gate house the large shutters opened up for them to head out into the forest. Nickole would never have said it was crawling, but she'd have to be naïve to say there were no Grimm around. There were definitely some lurking in the forest, watching her family. The occasionally patrol would sometimes happen upon a Grimm out of their league, but a short call for back up usually got a specialist there before anyone got hurt. Even still she really didn't feel like dealing with Grimm without her sword, mostly she just wanted to burn through an obstacle course or two.
"So, I don't suppose this whole thing was a ploy to get us out here alone?" Nickole asked her boyfriend, almost hopefully.
"You know I really wish I'd thought of that." Kobalt laughed, slightly awkwardly, as he turned towards her. "But we really ought to train a…"
She didn't give him a chance to finish his sentence, she raised a hand up and pulled him into a kiss hoping it would change his mind. The fact that he wasn't even bothering to resist told her it was working.
"…little bit." Kobalt finished as she broke from the kiss. "Are you already getting in a habit of doing that?"
"What can I say, I don't want to deal with Grimm." Nickole shrugged as she threw her arms around his neck. "Besides, I still owe you one for getting my dad to stop with that awful story."
"You know if you told me that we could've just gone somewhere less dangerous and relaxed." Kobalt mentioned
"And we'd have been interrupted by my family anywhere we went." Nickole figured "Can't we just enjoy some privacy for once?"
"Well I'm not going to complain." Kobalt said leaning back in. Of course just as he did a low growl filled the air followed by the sound of leaves being parted.
"Oh come on." Nickole complained letting go of Kobalt and grabbing her shield off her back. She turned around to see a pair of red eyes emerging from the woods, a beowolf. As she watched, more and more poured out in front of her.
"See, thisis why I would've preferred somewhere less dangerous." Kobalt told her as he drew his sword and pressed his back against hers, they were surrounded then. "In there we get interrupted by your family, out here well…this is slightly more annoying."
"I'll take Grimm any day." Nickole insisted "Of course that's on a day when I have my sword."
"Oh come on, it's beowolves Nickole." Kobalt laughed over his shoulder "Don't tell me you're actually worried?"
"Of course not, I've got you here don't I?" she smiled
"Well I can't do all the…AHHH!" Kobalt shouted in pain suddenly, when Nickole turned her head she saw him down with one knee in the dirt and a hand on his head.
"Not now." He muttered through gritted teeth.
Flashback! Nickole realized instantly, something was coming back to him. But now of all times? There weren't many situations that could be worse for something to come back to him. And seeing him drop to the ground made the beowolves much bolder. The pack began closing in slowly on the two of them, and Nickole was weaponless. She would've reached for Kobalt's sword but his grip on it was so tight it looked like he might snap it. This was bad real bad.
Calm down Nickole, she told herself. She was starting to panic, and that would only make things worse. The second the beowolves honed in on that emotion they'd pounce, and it was only a matter of time before they did anyway. She needed something, anything, something she could work with. She needed a rune, something to delay the beowolves long enough for her to get Kobalt out of there. But she couldn't think of any she had that could do that right now, absolutely none. A lockdown wouldn't trap them all, and her runeguard would only protect them for a short time. She didn't have a weapon for any of her augmentations and with this many, and any explosive rune would catch her and Kobalt in the explosion. Not good, not good at all. There was nothing she could do. And the moment that thought passed through her mind the wolves pounced, the entire pack leaping at them as one.
"NOO!" Nickole shouted, slamming her foot to the ground in desperation. She would not let them hurt Kobalt. She didn't care what it took, she had to stop them somehow.
With the surge of emotions running through her Nickole felt a sensation burn through her that she hadn't felt in years. Her Aura pulsed with life and from her foot spread a huge blue rune with three layers of circles, the outer most one ringed by fire. As it spread out further everything from between the first circle and the last shook. All at once the beowolves fell to the ground and the earth started splitting open. As quickly as she could Nickole reached for a rock at her feet, put her explosive rune on it and threw it up above the trees. The moment the rock left her hand she whipped around and reached for Kobalt's pistol. She thanked the winds it was loaded and the safety was off as she sighted the wolf directly in front of her and squeezed the trigger. She was not at all prepared for the kickback the pistol had, if she hadn't been training for the past seven years the recoil might've sent the gun flying right out of her hand. But the round obliterated the head of the beowolf she shot at, and as she moved on to the next target she braced herself for the recoil this time. Now that she knew what to expect the recoil wasn't as bad, with her compensating for it she was making quick work of the wolves in front of her. And just in time too, just as she shifted her focus to the ones behind her the rune died out and the wolves started to get back up. She was still in motion when she pulled the trigger, so instead of nailing the wolf in the head she missed and tore off its arm. Still it was enough to keep that one out of the fight so she moved on. Her instincts screamed at her to duck just a beowolf snapped its jaws where her head had been a second ago. It flew past her and she quickly shot it in the back before it could land and attack again. Nickole turned back around to see the remaining wolves had stepped back a few feet, together the three survivors rushed towards Kobalt. She jumped forwards, landing right next to him and bringing her shield up to try and cover him. She felt one wolf hit her shield and she started to fire wildly in front of herself when another series of quick and loud shots rang out. Nickole would've recognized that gunshot anywhere, she lowered her shield to see the heads of all three wolves gone. In their place the singed remains of their necks that Tristan's sniper left. Thank the winds, they must've seen her explosive rune go off and come running.
"Nickole." Kobalt strained to speak, his head was raised but it looked like it was taking everything he had to keep it up.
"It's alright, were safe now." She told him, kneeling down next to him.
"Behind." He added before dropping straight to the ground.
Nickole heard the footsteps before she even got the chance to turn around. Just coming into the clearing now was the largest Ursa Nickole had ever seen. Twice the size of any other one she'd seen and much more menacing. It settled on all fours directly in front of Nickole and roared so loud it nearly blew her hair right off her head. Before it could do anything Nickole leveled the pistol dead against its head and squeezed the trigger. And the gun clicked; empty. Completely paralyzed Nickole didn't even know what to do, even a half intelligent Grimm would've noticed the gun doing nothing. She no longer had a weapon, and it was far too close for her to get her shield up in time. Its paw was already raised up above its head and Nickole prayed her Aura would be able to take the hit. But before it could strike her another roar filled the forest, this one almost human sounding. Before she could even blink, Justin burst passed her head and impaled his spear in the Ursa's hand. He pulled it out and sliced the spearhead across the Ursa's chest, quick as a flash he started pushing the Grimm back with thrusts so fast Nickole couldn't tell if his semblance was lightning powers or lighting speed. As if reading her mind Justin started arcing lighting from nearly every inch of his body and along his spear. It was insane, as though he'd merely been holding back against Tristan earlier. But even if he had been his Aura was still low, a single swipe sent him flying back and into a tree, and Nickole saw the last of his Aura go with it. But Justin didn't even slow down, he got back up and charged in again. His head quickly bent back as a swipe came in and his thrust his spear dead center of the Ursa's chest.
"Stay the hell away from my friends." He added before squeezing the trigger on his spear, sending it and him flying forward and through the Ursa. The hole it left was already smoking as the creature fell over dead. Without even taking a moment for himself Justin ran back over to Nickole, who was only now beginning to process everything that just happened. As she shook of the shock she turned her attention back to Kobalt who was coming to.
"You both okay?" Justin asked once he reached them.
"I'm fine," Nickole told him as she bent down to Kobalt and threw his arm over her shoulder "But Kobalt…"
Then she looked up at Justin to see he was bleeding, just under his left eye was a gash the Ursa must've left after his Aura had been knocked out.
"Woah, Justin you alright?" Tristan asked as he walked into view. Justin briefly reached a hand up to his face and recoiled in pain when he touched the wound.
"I'm fine." He insisted, smearing the blood across his cheek as he withdrew his hand.
"Take it from me, get that cleaned out when we get back." Kobalt breathed as he used his sword to try and push himself to his feet.
"You good Blue?" Nickole asked pulling him up further.
"Well I'm pissed that my mind chose now of all times to remember something." He admitted "But I'm alright, and I really need something to drink."
"What'd you remember?" Tristan asked
"A pack of beowolves attacking me in a forest." Kobalt sighed "Not even something important."
"Well that's not fair." Nickole added "Come on, let's get out of here."